Twila, the Magic Child
by The Silentier
Summary: When Howl and Sophie have a daughter, there's a woman who isn't very pleased with it. What will happened when one day, Markl and their daughter, Twila, go missing? [I know, bad summary, but it'll be good! I'm certain of it!]
1. Chapter 1

**A bit of info before you read this... I LOVE Howl's Moving Castle! It's one of my favorite movies, and I'm actually watching it while I write this. But, the idea for this came to me while I was watching it earlier today, and I thought... Why not? :3 Anyway, enjoy!**

**P.S. All other fanfics and those in the making are still being worked on, they just need some proofreading done. **

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><p>"So, Sophie, what will her name be?" Howl asked his wife, who was cuddling their newborn daughter. The baby had light chocolate brown hair and dark blue-gray eyes. The perfect mixture of Howl and Sophie.<p>

"Hmm... I'm not sure." Sophie confessed. She looked over at Markl. "Have any suggestions?" Markl tapped his chin a few times. Then, he shook his head. Sophie looked over at the Witch of the Waste. "How about you? Do you have any names in mind?"

"Oh, I doubt that child would fancy any names I'd pick for her. They're all boy names. I wasn't expecting you to have a girl." The Witch of the Waste waved her hand dismissively.

"What about Twila?" Everyone looked over at Calcifer. "It means star. What you do think?"

Howl smiled. "That's a terrific name, Calcifer. Twila it is, then." He smiled down at his daughter.

Markl sat next to Sophie and looked down at his little sister. "I'm gonna take good care of you, Twila. No one's ever going to hurt you." He smiled as Twila gently grabbed one of his fingers.

The Witch of the Waste sank back in her chair. She glared slightly at the sky. "It seems Madame Sulliman has a word or two for you, Howl."

Just as Howl turned to ask what she meant, a hole appeared beneath him, Sophie, and Markl. They fell through and landed gently inside the palace, in front of Madame Sulliman. She held no emotion on her face until her eyes fell upon the newborn in Sophie's arms.

"Congratulations, Howl. You must be proud." Sulliman said, bowing her head ever so slightly. The black-haired wizard said nothing as he bowed his head slightly back at her.

Sophie held both of her children close to her. "Did you want something of us? We still have much to do, preparing the castle for a newborn." She said with a bit of anger. She still hadn't completely forgiven Madame Sulliman for what she'd done.

The Madame could sense that, and replied gently, "Yes. I just wanted to give you all a friendly warning. Not everyone will see this child as a blessing, Howl." She turned to him. "I suggest you get any past affairs in order before anything goes wrong."

Madame Sulliman waved her cane-stick... thing, and sent them back home. When they landed back in the living room, Calcifer and the Witch of the Waste bombarded them with questions.

"What did Madame Sulliman say?"

"Is there something wrong with Twila?"

"Will the baby be alright?"

As the questions continued, Howl glanced down at his wife and children. He knew exactly who Madame Sulliman was referring to, but had no way of reaching her. He would find some way, though. To protect his family, he would spent every waking moment trying to find her and patch things up.


	2. Chapter 2

The next few months were filled with dread for Howl. He spent hours upon hours, searching through portals and large expanses of time and space... but, he couldn't locate her. Where could she have gone? There could only be one Pauline in the world.

Pauline was a woman that Howl pursued in the past. The whole tale of him eating the hearts of beautiful women wasn't true... entirely. He collected them, as trophies of sorts. A reminder of how cunning and beautiful he was.

Howl groaned in frustration as he slammed down his books. Running a hand through his blue-black hair, he left his room and went downstairs.

"Howl? Are you alright?"

Howl looked up at the sound of Sophie's voice. She was stirring a pot on top of Calcifer. Howl looked around and only saw the Witch of the Waste sitting at the table with Heen by her feet. "Where's Markl? And, Twila?"

"They're in the Garden. I was just about to go and get them." Sophie said, wiping her hands on her apron.

Howl went over to the door. "No, no. Allow me." With that, he turned the dial to the Garden Door and stepped through.

Markl held his little sister up as Twila pulled a few flowers out of the ground. He smiled as he set her down in front of him. _'I'm gonna miss these times once you can walk...' _he thought, a pang of sadness hitting him. Twila was growing up fast, and soon, she'd be walking around, getting into trouble. But, he'd be right beside her through it all.

Markl looked up and saw a figure in a dark cloak watching him and his sister. He pulled Twila into his lap and hugged her close, protecting her as much as he could while sitting. The figure lifted its head and disappeared just as Howl stepped into the Garden. "Markl! Are you out here?"

Markl picked up Twila and walked over to his father. "We're here, Master Howl!" As he passed his sister to Howl, Markl asked, "Master Howl... who all knows about this place?"

Howl looked down at Markl. "Just us and my late uncle. Why?"

"I saw someone in a cloak while me and Twila were playing. It looked like they were watching us. Do you think it was one of Madame Suliman's henchmen, making sure we were okay?" Markl asked. He gasped slightly at the worry etched on Howl's face. "Master Howl? Dad?"

Howl snapped out of his trance when he heard Markl call him 'Dad.' He looked down and smiled at him. "Come on, Markl. I'm sure Sophie's made something delicious for us."

As they stepped back into the castle, Sophie smiled at them. "There you three are. Sit down, I've made fish!"

Both Markl and Howl groaned and said, "I hate fish..."

"Oh, shut up and eat!" Sophie said, taking Twila from Howl. As they sat down, Twila looked over at the window and saw the hooded figure from before. She waved to it, as much of a wave as she could make at her age, and the cloaked being disappeared again.


	3. Chapter 3

As everyone in the castle slept, Howl worked on finding out where Pauline could be. "Where could you be hiding..?" he whispered to himself.

**"Who said I was hiding?"**

Suddenly, Howl was pulled into a portal that opened up behind him. He found himself inside of a dusty, old bedroom. The bed was covered in books, bottles of potions, and papers. The walls had scorch marks and rotted areas on them. The floor was polluted with bones and particles of dead matter.

"Do you like what I've done with the place?" a female voice asked from behind Howl. He turned around and nearly gagged at the sight. The woman had boils and wart covering her face. Her nose was twice normal size. She had stringy shoulder-length white hair, and her white eyes held anger and resentment.

Howl took a step back. "W-who are you? How did you send me here?"

The woman chuckled darkly. "Now, Howl. You're still young, your memory hasn't gone yet, has it? You don't remember your first conquest?"

Howl gasped softly. "Pauline? What happened to you?"

**"_You _happened to me, Howl!" **As Pauline spoke angrily, her hair flew wildly around her face and her eyes blazed red. **"When you took my heart from me, you took away everything!"** She knocked down a nearby table in anger, nearly hitting Howl's foot with it. Calming visibly, Pauline smirked at him. "But, no matter. I've been able to restore my beauty and replenish my youth." She walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a jar containing hearts.

Howl grimaced at the sight. "What have you got those for?"

"To act as a temporary replacement to what I use to have." Pauline slurped a few of them down her throat. After she swallowed a third heart, her appearance began to change. She still had white hair and eyes, but she appeared to get younger. Her nose shrank down to a normal size and the boils and warts vanished.

"As you may have noticed, my hair and eyes reflect my emotions. Right now, I have none." as she spoke, her hair and eyes became a pale blue. "I haven't for a long time..."

Then, they became red again. "But, seeing you move on so easily... get married, have a child... That was supposed to be **MY **life!" She slammed her fist into the wall near her. Her hair and eyes turned black.

Howl spoke up, not liking her mood change. "Listen, Pauline, if you just want your heart back, I'll give it to you. I still have it."

"It doesn't matter if you have my heart..." Pauline's eyes turned pink for a moment, then turned a pale green. "I don't need it anymore. All I need is that magic child of yours."

Howl didn't allow the shock of her statement to come across his face. He simply changed the subject. "Why don't you want your heart back? It's of no use to me now."

Pauline sneered, her hair changing to a bright blue color. "Of course it isn't. Tell me, how does it feel to be rejected? To be cast aside like some old toy a child won't play with?" When Howl didn't answer, Pauline's hair and eyes deepened in their color. "You wouldn't know... But, to answer your question, my heart would bring back many painful memories, and I'd rather not have them back."

Howl continued to press the subject of Pauline's heart. "If you take back your heart, I'm sure it would heal you. Pauline-"

"Stop calling me that. I've taken on the name Lady Vex... to show just how much hatred and resentment I hold towards you and that ugly little family of yours." Lady Vex's hair and eyes became red once more. "I'll get my revenge, Howl. You'd better keep that little girl close by."

With a flick of her pointer finger, a portal opened behind Howl again, sending him home. As he went through it, Lady Vex taunted, "Wouldn't want to lose her~"

Howl spent the remainder of the night watching over Twila and Markl, since they shared a room. He sat in the corner of the room with his back against the wall. Every time one of his children moved or mumbled in their sleep, Howl was on his feet, checking to see they were alright.

Sophie came into the room. "Howl, what's wrong?" she whispered.

Howl glanced over at her. Then, he considered if Lady Vex could change her form to trick him. He looked into Sophie's eyes. Brown, like always. Lady Vex's hair and eyes were always the same color at the same time, so this was really Sophie.

"Nothing. Everything's fine, Sophie." Howl said after a while. Sophie wanted to press the issue further, but decided against it. Howl really was hard to understand sometimes.


End file.
